Abel Protiva

Welcome to the World Abel Falcon

Posted January 24, 2017

As many of you may know, we found out at 20 weeks into our pregnancy that our precious baby boy has a congenital heart disease called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). This rare defect will require a set of three surgeries before the age of 4 as well as a complete heart transplant at some point in his life. As scary as that sounds and was at that time, we have come a long way. With the help and support of the amazing staff at UNMC and Children's Hospital, our families feel grateful to live where we live and have been given the option of the surgeries to save our son's life.

Today we welcomed Abel Falcon Protiva into the world at 8:31am with tears of joy to follow. At 19.2 inches long, he weighed 6lbs 14oz and screamed like a pterodactyl. We could not be more proud of how well he has done today being poked and prodded non stop making sure that he is stable and ready for his first surgery. The surgical team will review his echocardiogram in the morning and decide when to schedule the Norwood procedure. Even though we don't know much at this time, I wanted to get a journal entry written with some photos and video attached. Thank you for following along with us on this journey. Your support means more to us than you'll ever know!

Contributions to COTA are used to assist the organization to help children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant. COTA allocates funds raised in honor of patients to families who have a documented financial need related to the transplant.